Issue 4 2018

analysis & control
53
Olam calls for urgent international
cooperation to reduce major greenhouse gas
footprint of rice production
Urgent action is needed by the agri-sector along with brands, retailers, financial institutions,
scientists and governments to implement solutions to limit methane emissions from rice
production, while improving farmer livelihoods and food security. This has to take into account
that many rice consumers are unable to pay more.
At the 5th International Rice
Congress in this October, Sunny
Verghese, Co-Founder and Group
CEO of Olam, one of the world’s
largest rice traders, called on
all stakeholders to advance the
implementation of the Sustainable
Rice Platform (SRP) Standard
which promotes climate-smart
practices. To achieve real scale,
a raft of additional measures
such as financial market support,
reduced tariffs and freeing up
capital by promoting the benefits
of sustainable rice to more
affluent consumers, are required.
Mr Verghese explained, “Rice
production emits the same level
of CO 2
equivalent as Germany
through methane emissions. 1
But climate change mitigation
cannot be a trade-off that hurts
the farmers and communities who
depend on rice for income and
sustenance. This is especially so
when rice is the largest staple
crop in the world, feeding half of
humanity. We must re-imagine the
whole supply chain if the world
is to become carbon neutral by
2050.” 2
Global Head of Rice at Olam,
Devashish Chaubey, said, “Our
programmes with the Thai Rice
Department, development agency
GIZ 3 and others prove that the
SRP Standard works. 4 Together,
we are aiming to reach 150,000
farmers by 2023 in Asia and
Africa. Yet, this represents a
mere 0.1% of total global rice
farming households. Greater scale
requires more impactful action by
the whole of the rice sector.”
What’s wrong with rice?
Rice is one of Southeast Asia’s
biggest crops and the financial
backbone for millions of farmers
across the region. 5 As highlighted
by the recent IPCC global
warming report, the yields and
nutritional value of rice face net
reductions should temperatures
rise.
Consequently, this will impact
millions of farmers and families,
particularly those on low incomes.
Yet rice is also a leading cause
of climate change. Methane, a
greenhouse gas (GHG) which is
up to 34 times more potent than
carbon dioxide, 6 is emitted as a
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